Compared to metals such as aluminum and steel, the number of stiffness and strength properties associated with polymer matrix composites (PMCs) is extensive. For metals, these mechanical properties ...

In my January 2019 column, I discussed methods to determine whether properties obtained from mechanical testing of composites are correct — or even reasonable. One of the methods focused on comparing ...

insights from industryStephan Botzki & Ian McEnteggartSenior Applications Engineer - Composites Market ManagerInstron In this interview, industry experts Stephan Botzki and Ian McEnteggart, senior ...

Vibration-absorbing, sound-damping materials such as sheets of rubber and expanded foam tend to be thick, bulky and soft. A new material is a big exception to that tendency, however, as it absorbs ...

Damage mechanics of composite materials is concerned with the various damage mechanisms, their evolution under thermomechanical loading, and their effect on the elastic, failure, and fatigue behavior ...

AMES, Iowa – A new smart and responsive material can stiffen up like a worked-out muscle, say the Iowa State University engineers who developed it. Stress a muscle and it gets stronger. Mechanically ...

Materials scientists are looking to nature -- at the discs in human spines and the skin in ocean-diving fish, for example -- for clues about how to use liquid to increase the stiffness of flexible ...